Arts Project Australia artist Terry Williams has been announced as a finalist in the prestigious Wynne Prize 2025.

“Terry’s creative journey began early. In the 1950s and ’60s, his mother made textile art and puppets for a Melbourne shop, inspiring a 10-year-old Terry to start sewing his own soft toys. Today, his work continues to evolve, blending fabric, form and character.

In Williams’ untitled self-portrait a vibrant, flannel-clad figure—fleshy, expressive, and seemingly bursting at the seams. Terry works spontaneously, sketching directly onto fabric or cutting shapes freehand, then stitching panels together with wool to create soft, pillow-like sculptures. This piece was completed in just one week.

A long-time artist at Arts Project Australia, Terry has been part of the studio since 1989 and still works there five days a week. This sculpture captures him exactly where he is most often found – seated in his favourite armchair at the APA studio.”

– Art Gallery New South Wales

Congratulations Terry Williams on this incredible milestone!

The Wynne Prize is awarded annually for ‘the best landscape painting of Australian scenery in oils or watercolours or for the best example of figure sculpture by Australian artists’.